RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

Hans carefully glanced at Tyrus for several moments.

”You... you were planning to be part of the operation, weren’t you?”

”Took you a long time to notice, Commander.”

As if! Hans screamed internally.

”You could have just asked directly.”

”And rob the Commander of the joy of discovering my intentions himself?”

”You are exhausting.”

”That’s great. It means your mind has worked hard.”

”Many great minds know when to shut up.”

Tyrus placed a hand over his chest, dramatizing a heart attack. ”How cruel of the Commander.”

Hans leaned back and stared at him.

There was no point pretending Tyrus would stay uninvolved. The man had already placed himself inside the problem. Even if Hans ordered him away, Tyrus would probably keep watching from the side and act as if breathing near the operation counted as obedience.

Besides, Hans needed additional options.

Cell 7’s mysterious Elemental remained a risk factor.

The receiver also needed days for repair.

Marcus understood SAS equipment, but Tyrus understood HELIX better than anyone in the base.

A dangerous helper was still a helper.

”You can come,” Hans said.

Tyrus smiled faintly. ”Then I thank the Commander for his wise choice.”

”I’m not finished.”

”Of course,” Tyrus raised both of his hands. ”I may sound unreliable, but I am not the type to compromise your operations.”

”You better not be.”

Tyrus shrugged.

Hans waved his hand. ”You can go now.”

Tyrus stood, the smile already fading from his face. The door closed behind him a few moments later.

Hans remained in the Command Room, staring at the flipped Cell 7 report on the table.

Marcus needed several days.

Tyrus wanted to observe.

The Radar Facility had marked the safehouse.

The underground sentries had not moved.

Everything was in place.

Hans exhaled and opened the construction interface. Waiting did not mean being idle.

...

The next three days passed without a battle. But that did not mean they passed uneventfully.

Hans deployed the third Power Plant further eastward. It increased his power capacity by another 400 units, finally reaching 1200.

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[ Energy: 660 / 1200 ]

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The additional energy was consumed by non-system infrastructure. It powered up any operable electronic systems nearby and brightened up the once dark streets.

His construction area expanded by another 500 meters as well. With the eastern horizon mostly cleaned up, Hans had no issues during the deployment phase.

But others did, particularly Kimmy, Johannes, Evelyn, and most especially—Tyrus. However, their remarks remained to themselves, not wanting to bother the busy Commander.

Meanwhile, Marcus occupied a small administrative building near the Command Room.

Two squads of infantry cleared it. Then the Engineers moved in to properly restore the lighting.

A pair of soldiers placed a worktable, storage shelves, and a guarded power line inside.

After that, Marcus told everyone to leave.

The Engineers did not argue. Hans did not make them argue either.

This was not a matter of trusting his Engineers less.

If the receiver was merely broken, they could fix it. If a circuit was burned, they could replace it. If a wire was loose, they could reconnect it faster than most people could understand what the wire was for.

But this was SAS equipment.

A careless repair might erase something Marcus would have otherwise recognized as intentional: strange disconnections, preserved channels, field habits, or signal patterns that looked useless to outsiders.

Hans knew that the receiver would not behave like a normal machine. He needed it restored the way an SAS agent was trained to do so.

Marcus ended up working alone, with only the occasional supply delivered through the door.

Even Johannes and Evelyn barely met him, exchanging short greetings before both parties went their separate ways.

On the second day, Tyrus made himself useful in the most annoying way possible.

He did not approach Marcus’s work or disturb him.

Technically, he obeyed every order Hans gave.

Unfortunately, he also spent the entire day asking ridiculous questions, making observations that sounded like accusations, and watching the training sessions with the expression of a man who had found four unfinished research papers walking around in human form.

Kimmy avoided his gaze.

Yunera openly glared at him.

Evelyn watched him with suspicion, wondering what was going through his mind every passing second.

Johannes remained polite, though he would rather not talk with Tyrus if given the chance.

And Callum—the DASF simply ignored him.

Since the Commander had said nothing about restricting Tyrus, might as well let the man enjoy his rare vacation.

As long as he did not openly disrupt the training sessions, Callum would leave him be.

By the third day, Hans had almost finished scribbling his plans and finalizing his base’s future direction.

He had finally received a report from Bastion One’s western point of interest. They were mostly civilians, with a few armed with small caliber guns.

The observed behavior looked normal. They were extremely cautious and protective in nature.

They also seemed to have a self-sufficient society inside. Though small, they weren’t short of any survivor needs.

Bastion One did not continue the surveillance and returned after a while.

Hans let the matter rest peacefully for now. There was no need to create friction with a harmless group. And there was no need to proactively approach them in their faces either.

Rather, he was testing the new Radar map provided by the Radar Facility and the results satisfied him greatly.

With a brush of his hand, he pushed the report aside and continued with his day.

That night, the Radar Facility turned under a moonless sky.

Hans sat in the Command Room, reviewing the western district map, when a soft chime entered his mind.

His eyes immediately shifted.

Cell 7’s gray dots had not moved. The underground sentries remained in place.

The safehouse remained silent.

If not at Cell 7, then where?

At that moment, a thin pulse flickered near his location. It vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

Hans straightened.

”System?”

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[ Electromagnetic communication activity detected within immediate command vicinity. ]

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The words appeared in front of him. Hans narrowed his eyes.

Is Marcus finally done?

His radio buzzed a breath later.

”Watcher One to Golden Eagle.”

Hans picked it up.

”Golden Eagle receives.”

”Agent Marcus is requesting your presence.”

Hans’s eyes sharpened. ”Let him through into the Command Room.”

”Understood.”

The radio went silent.

Hans quickly moved, clearing the clutter on his desk and stacking the reports and folders into an orderly fashion.

By the time footsteps echoed outside the door, Hans eagerly sat on his chair and calmly tapped the desk.

The door opened. Marcus entered with the hard case in hand.

His face looked the same as usual—tired and flat.

But the way he carried the case was full of cautiousness, afraid that a single slip might destroy whatever was inside.

”Good news?”

Marcus placed the hard case on the table. ”I would not call it that yet, Commander.”

Hans stared at him. ”How’s the receiver?”

Marcus opened the case.

Inside, the receiver looked almost the same as before, except several exposed sections had been cleaned, reinforced, and connected through temporary insulated leads.

A small diagnostic unit remained attached to its side, its screen blinking with slow lines of data.

”We can start communicating now, but it is better for my lea—for Johannes to initiate the call.”

”I already planned that,” Hans replied. ”Does the time of contact matter?”

”It’s better to call closer to midnight,” Marcus advised. ”Their watch rotation is mostly active at night.”

”Why not in the day then?”

Hans felt that Marcus’s reasoning was twisted. If they were more active at night, would that not make the situation more dangerous?

Marcus seemed to understand the doubt behind Hans’s words.

”Because this is not a normal call, Commander. It is a C2C.”

”C2C?” Hans furrowed his brows.

”Cell-to-Cell authentication sequence. Standard SAS Protocol. The conversation may sound like a regular call. Routine checks, weather confirmation, supply inquiry, a friend calling another friend, or some meaningless exchange.”

”But it’s not meaningless...” Hans added. With this, the SAS could roam around the streets and use such methods to send information without becoming too suspicious.

”Indeed. The phrasing, pauses, order of questions, callsign structure, and countersign all matter.”

Hans slowly leaned on the back of his chair. ”The conversation itself is the password. And with nighttime...”

Marcus looked at the receiver.

”If we call in the middle of the day, the equipment may still work. Johannes may still complete the exchange. But to another SAS Cell, it will feel wrong. Even if they accept the call, they will most likely force the meeting to happen at night anyway.”

”Very cautious approach,” Hans clicked his tongue. ”Is it because darkness provides more cover and safety options?”

”The Commander is sharp. We of the SAS expect the darkness and cold night to weaken most groups.”

”And am I part of that category?”

Marcus paused, then shook his head.

”Definitely not.”

Hans smiled. ”What do you want for a reward?”

”The Commander must be joking,” Marcus shook his head. ”I am already thankful to be given this type of job.”

”You like electronics that much?”

”Since I was a kid, yes.”

”And you grew up to become a secret service agent.”

Marcus gave a stretched smile. ”Not my proudest achievement, but at least I can tinker with strange technology.”

Hans looked at the receiver.

”Midnight, then.”

Marcus nodded.

”I recommend Johannes, Evelyn, and myself be present.”

”Tyrus?”

Marcus’s expression tightened by a fraction.

”It is expected that Cell 7 may attempt to sense our side of the call, Commander.”

”So no spectators then,” Hans didn’t force the issue.

”Yes, no spectators.”

”Fine. Johannes will initiate. Your team will handle the receiver. We will wait outside the room to observe.”

Marcus closed the hard case halfway, careful not to disturb the temporary connections.

”You can leave that here,” Hans gestured. ”I’ll have this place tidied up. Go and take a rest. We’ll have a long night tonight.”

”Understood, Commander.”

Hans stared at the blinking diagnostic unit.

At midnight, he would knock on Cell 7’s door without sending a single soldier to it.

Whether they opened it or not would be their choice.